In 1990, Nintendo embarked on an epic road tip across the continental U.S. to find the greatest Nintendo player. Similar video gaming challenges would later follow, but none have managed to match the amount of brouhaha and hype of the Nintendo World Championships. It was, in many ways, the video game competition to end all others.

Recently, I was asked to become an outside prototype contact for a grading and authentication company called the Video Game Authority. This admittedly unexpected offer inspired me to begin a serious investigation that led me to study the company’s history, operations, promises, and policies in order to get a better sense of its corporate identity and verification methods.